


Who said there's no free lunch?

by ficasim



Category: Haikyuu!!, ダイヤのA | Daiya no A | Ace of Diamond
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-19
Updated: 2014-11-19
Packaged: 2018-02-26 07:22:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2643122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficasim/pseuds/ficasim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroo knew he had the tendency to wander when he went out on his own, but he also knew that he was no Kenma. Not all who wander are lost. Certainly not him. Except he kind of was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who said there's no free lunch?

Kuroo knew he had the tendency to wander when he went out on his own, but he also knew that he was no Kenma. Not all who wander are lost. Certainly not him. Except he kind of was.

He just wanted to get away before Bokuto woke up and started being loud in general, because really, last night had been chaotic enough. Kenma had been smart enough to ditch it while they had been drunk-dialling Tsukishima, which had caused Akaashi’s level of frustration to reach new heights. Poor Akaashi. That guy deserved an award for all his hard work that consisted of babysitting two 20-year-olds who behaved as if they were five. Okay, Bokuto was at least four but he didn’t really want to think about it at the moment.

Kuroo strolled around the unfamiliar neighbourhood because who needed a sense of urgency when it’s that nice outside. His only concern was a growing hunger and maybe the fact that he had forgotten to bring a decent amount of money when he had left home earlier. If he treated himself to a nice celebratory lunch, he might not have enough money for the trip back home. If he prioritised going back home, he would have to settle with less than satisfying lunch. The answer was pretty obvious.

(He’d just call Akaashi later to ask him to pick him up. Getting Bokuto involved in situations like this didn’t usually end well.)

He had decided to walk into the fanciest-looking restaurant he’d come across, but of course, he had not thought it through. This was a residential area, even a small establishment would have been quite hard to find. He had had to walk and had gotten himself even more lost in the area before he could spot a café at a corner of a junction. Looks rather old and plain, but it was better than nothing.

The interior of the café looked cosier than he had expected. The customers looked comfortable enough with one another that it was safe to guess that most must have been regulars. Kuroo took a seat at the bar area, where a young man stood, taking orders and making lunches. He looked familiar, Kuroo thought, but he might have been a celebrity lookalike or somebody he happened to take note of on one of his people-watching escapades.

“Can I take your order?”

Kuroo looked around for a menu, on the table or on the walls, but found nothing. Was this one of those shops where you leave it to the chef to cook something for you? Well, he was feeling adventurous enough for that.

“I’ll have your best fish dish,” he smirked.

The young man on the other side of the counter smirked back at Kuroo, dropping a “got it” before disappearing into what looked like the kitchen. Today was getting interesting.

He came back a few minutes later with a plate on one hand and a bottle on the other.

“Smoked salmon and cream cheese Panini with garden salad in balsamic dressing. Optional Riesling if you’re of drinking age.”

“Oh ho! I happen to turn legal today, not that I haven’t touched alcohol before.”

“Hoo. It happens to be my birthday too today, which is why the shop owner allowed me to take over the counter for the day. Too bad I’m still one year away from being legal, not that I’m in a hurry to grow older.”

“You’re not the actual chef? How interesting. This Panini looks pretty good. Too bad it isn’t salt-grilled Pacific Saury. That would’ve been even better.”

“Well. You get what you asked for. What say you we open this bottle and enjoy it? Nobody has to know,” he grinned.

“Nobody has to know,” Kuroo returned it with full power.

\--

That day Kuroo ended up staying later than he had planned to and even helped out with the dinner service. For that he didn’t have to pay for the more than satisfying lunch and dinner. The wine, well, nobody had to know that he was drinking with a minor, and nobody had to know that he suspected that the other guy had shared it with him without the owner’s consent. But man, that was good. Kuroo was a broke college student and alcohol to him pretty much meant the cheap beer sold at the supermarket near his dorm. The whole day had been a fulfilling birthday experience and he’d have to thank that cool guy for this.

“Hey, thanks for the food and wine. That was awesome. I haven’t asked your name though.”

“It’s Miyuki Kazuya. And the pleasure’s mine. Thanks for helping out too.”

“Whoa, wait. You’re that baseball guy who appeared on TV? No wonder you look familiar. Oh, Kuroo Tetsurou, by the way.”

“Are you into sports? You looked like the type?” He chuckled.

“I was in the volleyball club during high school. Nowadays I only play casually though. Man, those days were so much fun.”

“I know right? High school sports are much more fun than professional leagues. I miss how cute new members always were, so good to tease.”

“I see that you’re that type too, eh? I get the feeling that you’re a good guy. We should hang out more often.”

And that was how Kuroo ended up having to run to catch the last train to his dorm. Damn that Miyuki for making him stay around until that late, not that it hadn’t been fun. This was why Kuroo liked wandering about. There was always something unexpected amidst the boring routine of college life. He wasn’t into partying with a horde of strangers, he wasn’t into mixers where girls speak in high-pitched voices that were more difficult to handle than Bokuto’s level of noise pollution. He had confidence in his ability to deal with new people, but he wasn’t motivated enough to maintain relationships with most. Rarely did a chance encounter leave a deep enough impression that he’d put in some effort to pursue it. As he listened to Bokuto’s whining that night (“Kuroo, I thought we were bros! Why did you suddenly disappear last night?!” “We’re bros. I only went out for a walk in the morning, which turned out longer than I thought it would. Chill bro.”), Kuroo made a mental note to treat Miyuki to something good next year and hoped that he’d still remember to note it down in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday trashes! These two have equally bad personalities and they share the same birthday, so I had to. This was inspired by a quote from Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. "Chance encounters are what keep us going." Also, totally no reference made to [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirokuma_Cafe). Nope. Not at all.
> 
> Also on [tumblr](http://ficinity.tumblr.com/post/103057046875/who-said-theres-no-free-lunch)


End file.
